Josip_Gjergja Knowpia

Josip Gjergja
Personal information
Born	November 24, 1937 (age 86); Zara, Kingdom of Italy
Nationality	Croatian
Listed height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Listed weight	165 lb (75 kg)
Career information
Playing career	1958–1976
Position	Point guard
Coaching career	1983–1994, 2003
Career history
As player:
1958–1976	Zadar
As coach:
1983	Yugoslavia
1984–1985	PAOK
1993–1994	Zadar
1994	Croatia
2003	Prishtina
Career highlights and awards
	As a player: FIBA European Selection (1968); 5× Yugoslav League champion: (1965, 1967, 1968, 1974, 1975); Yugoslav Cup winner (1970); Croatian Lifetime Achievement Award in Sport (2014); Croatian Sportsman of the Year (1963);
Men's basketball
Representing Yugoslavia
FIBA World Cup
EuroBasket
Head coach for Croatia
FIBA World Cup

Josip "Pino" Gjergja (also transliterated Đerđa, Djerdja or Giergia; born 24 November 1937), also credited as Giuseppe Giergia,^[a] is a retired Croatian basketball player and coach. He represented the Yugoslavia national basketball team internationally. He was nominated for the EuroLeague's 50 Greatest Contributors list in 2008. He was born in Zadar, to an Arbanasi family, hence the variously transcribed name. At a height of 1.76 m (5'9") tall, he played at the point guard position.

Playing career edit

Gjergja wore KK Zadar's jersey for 18 consecutive seasons, thus becoming one of the club's legends, alongside Krešimir Ćosić. He was a three time Yugoslav Basketball League champion, from 1965 to 1968, and won another two Yugoslav championships, back-to back, in 1974 and 1975. He also won the Yugoslav Cup in 1970.

National team career edit

Gjergja was a member of the Yugoslav national team. With Yugoslavia, he won two FIBA World Cup silver medals, in 1963 and 1967, as well as a EuroBasket silver medal in 1965. He also participated in two Summer Olympic Games, in 1960 and 1964.

Coaching career edit

Gjergja began a coaching career after his retirement from playing. As a head coach, he led the senior Croatian national team to the FIBA World Cup bronze medal, at the 1994 FIBA World Championship. In 2003, he coached the club team, Prishtina, in Kosovo.

Notes and references edit

Notes

^ Giuseppe Giergia was his birth name, changed by the Yugoslav regime. Recently he obtained legally to change his name back to the original version^[1]